Camposipterus Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, | |
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C. nasutus holotype | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Order: | † Pterosauria |
Suborder: | † Pterodactyloidea |
Clade: | † Ornithocheiriformes |
Clade: | † Ornithocheirae |
Clade: | † Targaryendraconia |
Family: | † Cimoliopteridae |
Genus: | † Camposipterus Rodrigues & Kellner, 2013 |
Type species | |
†Ornithocheirus nasutus Seeley, 1870 | |
Species | |
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Synonyms | |
List of synonyms
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Camposipterus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of England. Fossil remains of Camposipterus dated back to the Early Cretaceous, about 112 million years ago. [1]
In 1869, Harry Govier Seeley, based on a fossil found at Haslingfield, Cambridgeshire, named Ptenodactylus nasutus, [2] at the same time disclaiming the name which makes it invalid by modern standards. In 1870, Seeley had realized that the generic name Ptenodactylus had been preoccupied, so he renamed the species into Ornithocheirus nasutus. [3] The specific name means "with a long nose" in Latin. In 2001, David Unwin made this species a junior subjective synonym of Anhanguera fittoni. [4] However, in 2013, Taissa Rodrigues and Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner concluded firstly that Pterodactylus fittoni was not a part of the genus Anhanguera and secondly that Ornithocheirus nasutus was not identical to it regardless. They decided to name a separate genus for the species: Camposipterus. [5] The generic name combines that of the Brazilian paleontologist Diogenes de Almeida Campos with a Latinized Greek πτερόν, pteron, "wing". The resulting new combination name, the combinatio nova , which is Camposipterus nasutus, while the type species remains as Ornithocheirus nasutus. [1]
The holotype, CAMSM B 54556, had been found in a layer of the Cambridge Greensand dating from the Cenomanian but probably containing reworked fossils from the older Albian. It consists of the front part of a snout. [1]
Rodrigues & Kellner in 2013 moved two more species to the genus. They renamed Pterodactylus sedgwickii into Camposipterus(?) sedgwickii and Ornithocheirus colorhinus into Camposipterus(?) colorhinus. The question marks indicate the uncertainty of the authors about the correctness of the move. [1]
Pterodactylus sedgwickii had in 1859 been named by Richard Owen based on specimen CAMSM B54422, the front part of a snout from the Cambridge Greensand. Its specific name honors Adam Sedgwick. [6] It was in 1869 renamed by Seeley into a Ptenodactylus sedgwickii, [2] and in 1870 into a Ornithocheirus sedgwickii. [3] In 1874, Owen again renamed it into Coloborhynchus sedgwickii. [7] Owen in 1859 also referred a front of the lower jaws, specimen CAMSM B54421. However, this piece is not of the same individual as the holotype and there is no proof for any connection with Pterodactylus sedgwickii. [1]
In 1869, Seeley also named a Ptenodactylus colorhinus, [2] in 1870 an Ornithocheirus colorhinus based on the syntypes CAMSM B54431 and CAMSM B54432, both front snouts from the Cambridge Greensand. Its specific name means "with a docked nose" from the Greek κόλος, kolos, "docked", and ῥίς. rhis, "nose". [3] In 2001, Unwin considered this species to be a junior synonym of Anhanguera cuvieri. [4] However, this was not accepted by Rodrigues & Kellner, who, rejecting any identity between the Brazilian and English pterosaur material, named a separate Cimoliopterus cuvieri. [1]
Rodrigues & Kellner treated Camposipterus as a group or clade. No synapomorphies could be established but a unique combination of themselves not unique traits was present. In side view the snout is rounded. The snout bears no crest. The front part of the snout is expanded. The palate curves upwards. The first tooth pair is located in the snout tip. [1]
Each of the species of Camposipterus has its own unique derived traits, autapomorphies, and a unique combination of traits.
Rodrigues & Kellner established two autapomorphies of Camposipterus nasutus. At the front of the jaw edge there is a density of three teeth per 3 centimeters (1.2 in), at the rear a density of 2.5 teeth. The snout tip is flat, in front view wider than tall. There is a unique combination of traits: the upper profile of the snout is straight or lightly curved; the midline ridge on the palate is extended forwards until the level of the rear margins of the second tooth pair; to the rear the distance between the teeth gradually increases; the second and third tooth pairs are obliquely pointed sideways; the front of the snout is slightly expanded. [1]
Rodrigues & Kellner established two autapomorphies of Camposipterus(?) sedgwickii. The expanded section of the front snout is suddenly constricted behind the third tooth pair. The tooth sockets of the third tooth pair are much larger than those of the fourth pair. There is a unique combination of traits: the snout is deep; the midline ridge on the palate towards the front reaches a position behind the third tooth pair. [1] This species was reassigned to the genus Aerodraco in 2020. [8]
Rodrigues & Kellner established a single autapomorphy of Camposipterus(?) colorhinus: the depression above the first tooth pair is obliquely directed to below. There is a unique combination of traits: the frontal expansion of the snout is well-developed, without a constriction at its end; there is a depression above the first tooth pair; the second and third tooth sockets have a large diameter; the fourth tooth socket is much smaller than the second and third. [1]
Camposipterus(?) colorhinus has a robust snout tip forming a large rosette to catch slippery prey such as fishes, indicating an animal of considerable size. The depression above the first tooth pair is shared with Uktenadactylus wadleighi, but in this form the depression is horizontally oriented. Seeley speculated that it was the attachment area for a lip but pterosaurs had horny beaks. [1]
Rodrigues and Kellner assigned Camposipterus to the clade Anhangueria, but incertae sedis , thus in an unknown position. Some cladistic analyses published in the naming article suggested a position in the evolutionary tree above Cimoliopterus and below Cearadactylus atrox. [1] In 2019, Jacobs et al. published a phylogenetic analysis that placed Camposipterus within the family Ornithocheiridae, more specifically the sister taxon of Cimoliopterus. [9] In the same year however, a study by Pêgas et al. placed Camposipterus within the clade Targaryendraconia, and specifically within the family Cimoliopteridae as the sister taxon of both Aetodactylus and Cimoliopterus: [10]
Topology 1: Jacobs et al. (2019). [9]
| Topology 2: Pêgas et al. (2019). [10]
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Ornithocheirus is a pterosaur genus known from fragmentary fossil remains uncovered from sediments in the UK and possibly Morocco.
Tropeognathus is a genus of large pterosaurs from the late Early Cretaceous of South America. This genus is considered to be a member of the family Anhangueridae, however, several studies have also recovered it within another family called Ornithocheiridae. Both of these families are diverse groups of pterosaurs known for their keel-tipped snouts and large size. Tropeognathus is regarded as the largest pterosaur found in the Southern Hemisphere, only rivaled by the huge azhdarchids. The type and only species is Tropeognathus mesembrinus. Fossil remains of Tropeognathus have been recovered from the Romualdo Formation, which is a Lagerstätte located in the Santana Group of the Araripe Basin in northeastern Brazil.
Anhanguera is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Early Cretaceous Romualdo Formation of Brazil and the Late Cretaceous Kem Kem Group of Morocco. This pterosaur is closely related to Ornithocheirus, but belongs in the family Anhangueridae. The generic name comes from the Tupi words añanga, meaning "spirit protector of the animals" + wera "bygone".
Ornithostoma is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous period of Europe, around 110 million years ago. Ornithostoma was once thought to have been a senior synonym of the pteranodontid Pteranodon due to its toothless anatomy and prior naming.
Coloborhynchus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur belonging to the family Anhangueridae, though it has also been recovered as a member of the Ornithocheiridae in some studies. Coloborhynchus is known from the Lower Cretaceous of England, and depending on which species are included, possibly the Albian and Cenomanian ages as well. Coloborhynchus was once thought to be the largest known toothed pterosaur, however, a specimen of the closely related Tropeognathus is now thought to have had a larger wingspan.
Ptenodactylus is a scientific name which has been used for several distinct genera of animals. It may refer to:
Ornithocheiridae is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. These pterosaurs were among the last to possess teeth. Members that belong to this group lived from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods, around 140 to 90 million years ago.
The Cambridge Greensand is a geological unit in England whose strata are earliest Cenomanian in age. It lies above the erosive contact between the Gault Formation and the Chalk Group in the vicinity of Cambridgeshire, and technically forms the lowest member bed of the West Melbury Marly Chalk Formation. It is a remanié deposit, containing reworked fossils of late Albian age, including those of dinosaurs and pterosaurs.
Uktenadactylus is a genus of anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous Paw Paw Formation of Texas, United States and the Wessex Formation on the Isle of Wight, England. Fossil remains of Uktenadactylus dated back to the Early Cretaceous period, from about 125 to 100 million years ago.
Pteranodontoidea is an extinct clade of ornithocheiroid pterosaurs from the Early to Late Cretaceous of Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and South America. It was named by Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner in 1996. In 2003, Kellner defined the clade as a node-based taxon consisting of the last common ancestor of Anhanguera, Pteranodon and all its descendants. The clade Ornithocheiroidea is sometimes considered to be the senior synonym of Pteranodontoidea, however it depends on its definition. Brian Andres in his analyses, converts Ornithocheiroidea using the definition of Kellner (2003) to avoid this synonymy.
Cimoliopterus is a genus of pterosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now England and the United States. The first known specimen, consisting of the front part of a snout including part of a crest, was discovered in the Grey Chalk Subgroup of Kent, England, and described as the new species Pterodactylus cuvieri in 1851. The specific name cuvieri honours the palaeontologist George Cuvier, whereas the genus Pterodactylus was then used for many pterosaur species that are not thought to be closely related today. It was one of the first pterosaurs to be depicted as models in Crystal Palace Park in the 1850s. The species was subsequently assigned to various other genera, including Ornithocheirus and Anhanguera. In 2013, the species was moved to a new genus, as Cimoliopterus cuvieri; the generic name Cimoliopterus is derived from the Greek words for "chalk" and "wing". Other specimens and species have also been assigned to or synonymised with the species with various levels of certainty. In 2015, a snout discovered in the Britton Formation of Texas, US, was named as a new species in the genus, C. dunni; the specific name honours its collector, Brent Dunn.
Lonchodraco is a genus of lonchodraconid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of southern England. The genus includes species that were previously assigned to other genera.
Anhangueria is a group of pterosaurs belonging to the clade Pteranodontoidea. Fossil remains of this group date back from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods, around 140 to 92.5 million years ago. Anhangueria was named by paleontologists Taissa Rodrigues and Alexander Kellner in a review of Ornithocheirus species in 2013, they defined the clade as a branch-based taxon consisting of all pteranodontoids more closely related to Anhanguera blittersdorffi than to Istiodactylus latidens and Cimoliopterus cuvieri.
Ikrandraco is a genus of lonchodraconid pterodactyloid pterosaur known from Lower Cretaceous rocks in northeastern China and the Cambridge Greensand of the UK. It is notable for its unusual skull, which features a crest on the lower jaw.
Ornithocheiromorpha is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Fossil remains of this group date back from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods, around 140 to 92.5 million years ago. Ornithocheiromorphs were discovered worldwide except Antarctica, though most genera were recovered in Europe, Asia and South America. They were the most diverse and successful pterosaurs during the Early Cretaceous, but throughout the Late Cretaceous they were replaced by better adapted and more advanced pterosaur species such the pteranodontids and azhdarchoids. The Ornithocheiromorpha was defined in 2014 by Andres and colleagues, and they made Ornithocheiromorpha the most inclusive clade containing Ornithocheirus, but not Pteranodon.
Serradraco is a genus of Early Cretaceous pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Valanginian aged Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation in England. Named by Rigal et al. in 2018 with the description of a second specimen, it contains a single species, S. sagittirostris, which was formerly considered a species of Lonchodectes, L. sagittirostris. In 2020, Averianov suggested it did not belong in Lonchodectidae.
Iberodactylus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaurs belonging to the clade Anhangueria, that during the Early Cretaceous lived in the area of present Spain. The type species is Iberodactylus andreui.
Targaryendraco is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of Hannover, northern Germany. Fossil remains of Targaryendraco dated back about 132 million years ago.
Nicorhynchus is a genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Cretaceous period. It contains two species, the type species, N. capito, from the Cambridge Greensand of England, and N. fluviferox from the Kem Kem Group of Morocco. These species were previously assigned to Coloborhynchus.
Aerodraco is a genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Albian–Cenomanian-age Cambridge Greensand of England. It contains only one species, Aerodraco sedgwickii. It was originally assigned to the genus Pterodactylus.